AbstractPrehistoric populations visited upland areas to exploit natural resources, for example flint, quartz, game, and wild plants, as early as the late Palaeolithic, around 17,000 BP. Finds like the Tyrolean Iceman in Italy or the glacier finds from Lenk-Schnidejoch in Switzerland show that (high) alpine regions were still used during the Neolithic and in later periods. In the Alps, as well as in the Caucasus, several archaeological sites, in the form of settlement, sheepfold or hunting camps, were excavated in mountainous and subalpine context. All these finds, combined with multi-proxy archaeobiological analyses, provide an indication of vertical (probably seasonal) mobility and the use of high altitudes, including for pastoral purposes. This session aims to bring together archaeologists, archaeozoologists, archaeobotanists and scholars from related scientific disciplines. The objective will be to discuss vertical mobility and niche construction through time using archaeological, archaeobiological and stable isotopic analytical approaches, with a special focus on the study of faunal and plant remains. We welcome papers on case studies about land- and resource use, animal and crop management, dairy economy, gathering and hunting, especially in mountainous regions, including their forelands. In order to stimulate a constructive discussion, we encourage submitting papers which elaborate on the following aspects : methodology – results – evidence and limitations – needs and perspectives.